Young Gun
by Debs dragon
Summary: Set during the Namek saga. Vegeta has joined with Krillin, Goku and Gohan in an attempt to find the dragonballs before Frieza gets them. While Goku is in the rejuvenation chamber so Vegeta mulls over his life thus far.


_Disclaimer: I don't own the DBZ gang, a rich Japanese man does. I don't own the song "Blaze of Glory" either, it belongs to Bon Jovi and as such all rights are his, I'm just borrowing it for the purpose of this fic. :)_

_Rating: PG 13_

_Warnings: Angst, violence, Vegeta POV, song fic_

_Archive: Dragonball-diaries.  
Anyone else just ask._

_Notes: Set during the Namek saga. Vegeta has joined with Krillin, Goku and Gohan in an attempt to find the dragonballs before Frieza gets them. While Goku is in the rejuvenation chamber so Vegeta mulls over his life thus far._

_/ Indicates song lyrics /_

**" Young Gun "**

Debs-dragon - January 2003

_/ I wake up in the morning  
And I raise my weary head  
I've got an old coat for a pillow  
And the earth was last night's bed./_

My eyes fluttered open and I took in the scene around me. Unfortunately, as much as I had hoped, it wasn't a dream. No, it was a nightmare... a nightmare that I was still caught up in. I gaze around and see the still sleeping forms of the two smaller ones. I smirk to myself. Looking up, the flashes and soft beeps of the chamber tell me that the healing process of Kakarott is still continuing. I note it will still be some time before the process is complete. I shift my position a little and allow my mind to wander back over the past, recounting the events in the lead up to my current situation.

_/ I don't know where I'm going  
Only God knows where I've been  
I'm a devil on the run  
A six gun lover  
A candle in the wind. /_

My mouth twists into a sneer as I recount my past. For as long as I can remember I have been bound to that horrendous creature they call Frieza.

Frieza...

Now there's an appropriate name if I ever heard one. I'm sure that being only has liquid ice running through his body. I thought I was cold and calculating, picking off my enemies at will, destroying without so much as a second thought. I have lost track of the places I have been to, and those yet to come. I follow orders, flitting from one place to another with never a thought to those I destroy or leave behind.

But Frieza... he was in a class of his own.

_/ When you're brought into this world  
They say you're born in sin  
Well at least they gave me something  
I didn't have to steal or have to win. /_

Born a prince to a doomed race of people was the only gift I ever received. My life has become one continuous round of training, battles and striving to be the best. I was apprenticed at an age so young even I don't remember it happening. I was taught to love the battle, to aim for the pinnacle, to be the best. Failure was not an option. Failure meant pain; physical and mental.

_/ Well they tell me that I'm wanted  
Yeah, I'm a wanted man  
I'm a colt in your stable  
I'm what Cain was to Abel  
Mister catch me if you can. /_

I wasn't blind to what was happening around me. I knew Frieza's intentions, I knew why he wanted me. With my bloodline I was one of the strongest in the universe and what better way to protect your own assets than by ensuring that all possible threats to your strength was within your own regime. Once knowing that you had the force within your control you proceeded to destroy any and all you perceived could become a threat to you... including my own.

That's when you lost my respect and I saw you for who and what you really were.

That's when I laid my plans.

_/ I'm going out in a blaze of glory  
Take me now but know the truth  
I'm going out in a blaze of glory  
Lord I never drew first  
But I drew first blood  
I'm no one's son  
Call me young gun. /_

With the demise of my father you left me an orphan...and then with the destruction of my race you left me homeless. You left me with no choice. I would bide my time and watch. Knowing the day would come when I could have my revenge. And now I'm tired... Tired of the hunt... Tired of being used as a pawn... Tired of being your instrument of death and destruction. I am Prince Vegeta. Proud leader of the fiercest most feared race in the universe and I will not be controlled any longer.

The stirring of the two beings I find myself reluctantly joined with draws me back to the present situation. As much as I hate to admit it, we need to unite to defeat this menace. I turn my head as I hear the questions flowing. I sigh to myself as I know I cannot avoid answering them.

_/ You ask about my conscience  
And I offer you my soul  
You ask if I'll grow to be a wise man  
Well I ask if I'll grow old. /_

I give forth only as much information as I deem is necessary. They don't need to know all of my chequered past and some things are better off not being revealed. Suffice to say, they understand I don't want Frieza to get his hands on those Dragonballs and this joining of forces is only temporary. I have my own uses for those elusive gems.

_/ You ask me if I've known love  
And what it's like to sing songs in the rain  
Well I've seen love come  
And I've seen it shot down  
I've seen it die in vain. /_

I know they are only trying to get a little more insight into my persona... to what makes me who I am and so I decide to tell them. I spare none of the grisly details, they asked... I tell. I've born witness to crimes too numerous to list, I've observed as innocents and guilty alike have been slain, watched while planets and races were destroyed simply because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

They cringe at my admissions, thinking of me as nothing more than a cold, calculating, killing machine...

And they don't know just how close to the truth they are.

_/ Shot down in a blaze of glory  
Take me now but know the truth  
'Cause I'm going down in a blaze of glory  
Lord I never drew first  
But I drew first blood  
I'm the devil's son  
Call me young gun. /_

It's time.

I can sense the ki as it grows stronger the closer it comes. I shiver in anticipation of the battle to come. I know it will quite posibly be my last and yet that thought doesn't disturb me. I take comfort in knowing that what I am about to do is my destiny... my absolution for all the wrongs I have committed against innocents. In one way it's a relief.

I stand opposing you at last. Now I see you in your true form and it isn't pleasant. With my rage warring within me I fight to stay in control. Your snide remarks cannot cut me anymore.

_/ Each night I go to bed  
I pray the Lord my soul to keep  
No I ain't looking for forgiveness  
But before I'm six foot deep. /_

All my senses are screaming at me now, my battered and broken body forced by my obstinate mind to continue as I struggle to maintain what little shred of life force I have left. I can see the two off to one side, watching horrified as yet another volley of blows finds its way to my now dying form.

I drag myself to a standing position, my pride will not allow me to sink to my knees and beg for my life as this vile creature has demanded I do. Seeing Kakarott to the side and knowing his strength and weakness I turn to face my opponent once more.

_/ Lord, I gotta ask a favour  
And I hope you'll understand  
'Cause I've lived life to the fullest  
Let this boy die like a man  
Staring down a bullet  
Let me make my final stand. /_

My breath is drawn through battered lips, bubbling and wheezing as it is exhaled once more. My strength is gone and I can no longer raise my broken form from the dirt. My frustration is evident as Kakarott tries to tell me to rest... but there will be no rest for me. How can I rest with that thing still alive, spreading its path of destruction across the universe?

My final confession over I try for one last shot. Summoning all that I have left in my tattered psyche I vainly attempt the impossible... and then scream my last.

The shot pierced through my heart leaving nothing but burning fire in its wake.

_/ Shot down in a blaze of glory  
Take me now but know the truth  
I'm going out in a blaze of glory  
Lord I never drew first  
But I drew first blood  
And I'm no one's son  
Call me young gun  
I'm a young gun. /_

A rare smile graces my face as I draw my last breath. I have had a vision... and I know what I started will be finished.

~ Fin ~


End file.
